Soil information system: use and potentials in humid and semi-arid tropics

The articles presented in this special section emanated from the researches of consortium members of the National Agricultural Innovative Project (NAIP, Component 4) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. These researches have helped develop a soil information system (SIS). In view of the changing scenario all over the world, the need of the hour is to get assistance from a host of researchers specialized in soils, crops, geology, geography and information technology to make proper use of the datasets. Equipped with the essential knowledge of data storage and retrieval for management recommendations, these experts should be able to address the issues of land degradation, biodiversity, food security, climate change and ultimately arrive at an appropriate agricultural land-use planning. Moreover, as the natural resource information is an essential prerequisite for monitoring and predicting global environmental change with special reference to climate and land use options, the SIS needs to be a dynamic exercise to accommodate temporal datasets, so that subsequently it should result in the evolution of the soil information technology. The database developed through this NAIP would serve as an example of the usefulness of the Consortium and the research initiative of ICAR involving experts from different fields to find out the potentials of the soils of humid and semi-arid bioclimatic systems of the country

Georeferenced soil information system: assessment of database

Land-use planning is a decision-making process that facilitates the allocation of land to different uses that provide optimal and sustainable benefit. As land-use is shaped by society–nature interaction, in land-use planning different components/facets play a significant role involving soil, water, climate, animal (ruminant/ non-ruminant) and others, including forestry and the environment needed for survival of mankind. At times these components are moderated by human interference. Thus land-use planning being a dynamic phenomenon is not guided by a single factor, but by a complex system working simultaneously,which largely affects the sustainability. To address such issues a National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) on ‘Georeferenced soil information system for land-use planning and monitoring soil and land quality for agriculture’ was undertaken to develop threshold values of land quality parameters for land-use planning through quantitative land evaluation and crop modelling for dominant cropping systems in major agro-ecological sub-regions (AESRs) representing rice–wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and deep-rooted crops in the black soil regions (BSR). To assess the impact of landuse change, threshold land quality indicator values are used. A modified AESR map for agricultural landuse planning is generated for effective land-use planning

New palladium (II) complex of SCN unsymmetric pincer-type ligand via oxidative addition

A new approach to the synthesis of benzothiophene-based palladium(II) complex of SCN unsymmetrical pincer-type ligand from iodocyclization of bis(methylthio)phenyl substituted ethynyl pyridine followed by oxidative addition of tris-(dibenzyledeneacetone) dipalladium(0) has been developed. The mechanistic implication of palladium complex reveals the practical evidence of oxidative addition step in Suzuki coupling reaction

Palladium complexes containing multidentate phenoxy-pyridyl-amidate ligands: Highly efficient catalyst for Heck coupling of deactivated aryl halides

N,N',N '',O-Tetrafunctional Pd(II) complexes prepared from the easily available amino acids are shown to be highly efficient catalysts for the Heck reaction of deactivated aryl bromides and iodides with high turnover numbers up to ca. 10(4) and moderate activity for the activation of aryl chlorides under phosphine-free conditions